Smoking Effects On Pregnant Women And Baby

Welch, the chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said that smoking cigarettes is probably the No. 1 cause of adverse outcomes for babies. He has helped thousands of pregnant women overcome many difficulties to have their healthy baby eventually. However, there is one tough problem. If a pregnant woman cannot quit smoking, the situation may be out of control. Their babies may be born prematurely or born too small. And they may even die before they can be born. He believed that the best way to get rid of this danger is to keep pregnant women from cigarettes.

Smoking effects on baby

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk both to yourself and your baby. In general, it doubles your risk of pregnancy complications. Even a few cigarettes a day will have dramatic adverse effects on the healthy development of your babies.

firstly, smoking during pregnancy will shave about a half-pound from baby’s birth weight. Remember that the more cigarettes you take, the lighter your baby would be. Actually it will affect your baby for the whole life.

Secondly, their lungs and heart will be affected too. The newborns of a smoking mother may not be able to breathe by themselves and need the help of a respirator. Some may even die when they are just born. Although they have been through the first few days, they may have some continuing problems like asthma. Facts show that the babies of a woman smoker are especially vulnerable to asthma and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). As for their heart, they are at a higher risk of heart defect.

Lastly, it is about their brain. Smoking during pregnancy has bad effects on their brain development which may cause learning disorders.

Smoking effects on pregnant women

The smoke of a cigarette consists of more than 4,000 chemicals which at least 60 out of them can cause cancer. The toxic substances would enter into your bloodstream which is the only source of oxygen and nutrients for your babies. As a result, if you smoke during pregnancy, your baby is smoking at the same time.

The most dangerous chemicals are nicotine and carbon monoxide which can be considered as the culprits behind almost each smoking-related disease. The nicotine narrows your blood vessels and then it will decrease the oxygen and nutrients that available for your babies. What is more, the red blood cells which used to carry oxygen would choose molecules of carbon monoxide instead. A lack of oxygen does great harm to your baby’s normal development.

What can I do?

The first thing you should do is to Quit Smoking totally for your own benefit. It is a huge gift for your babies. Especially, when you plan to have babies, you should stop smoking immediately which would increase the chance of getting pregnant. Whenever you find yourself pregnant, you should take steps immediately no matter how hard it is.